Delinquencies Fall Again, Hover Near Record Lows

Delinquencies fell for the thirteen consecutive month in April, down 1.8% YOY and unchanged from the month prior, according to CoreLogic’s latest Loan Performance Insights Report.

Only 2.9% of mortgages across the nation were in some stage of delinquency in April. Serious delinquencies, those which are 90 days or more past due, have seen the most change in the last year. They account for 1.4% of all mortgages, down from 3.3% at the same time last year, and have fallen from a high of 4.3% in August 2020.

All states saw annual declines in their overall delinquency rate in April. The states with the largest declines were Nevada (-3.2%), Hawaii (-3%), and New Jersey (-2.7%). 

Early-stage delinquencies are up 1% YOY, however, to 1.2%, while the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due is up from 0.6% to 0.7% YOY.

Adverse delinquencies (60 to 89 days past due) remain unchanged from last year at 0.3%. The share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process is also unchanged at 0.3%.

CoreLogic reports that double-digit price gains led to high equity gains in Q1 2022, helping to keep delinquency and foreclosures at historic lows. Home prices have risen 42% since the beginning of the pandemic and 9% from the first of the year, with equity reaching another all-time high in June.

The small uptick largely reflects lenders ending forbearance periods for extremely delinquent borrowers.

“The U.S. foreclosure rate edged up in spring 2022 after hitting a historic low at the end of 2021,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. 

“Moratoria and forbearance that helped keep homeowners out of foreclosure are expiring for many borrowers, but ongoing strong employment numbers and large amounts of equity should keep foreclosure rates low moving forward.”